This invention generally relates to exercise equipment and in particular to exercise treadmills having control systems utilizing microprocessors.
Exercise treadmills are widely used for performing walking or running aerobic-type exercise while the user remains in a relatively stationary position. In addition exercise treadmills are used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Generally, for all of these purposes, the person on the treadmill performs an exercise routine at a relatively steady and continuous level of physical activity. One example of such a treadmill is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,752, 897.
Although exercise treadmills that operate using a microprocessor based control system have reached a relatively high state of development, there are a number of significant improvements in the program software that can improve the user""s exercise experience.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an exercise treadmill having improved user programs.
A further object of the invention is to provide a treadmill having a control panel that includes a standard set of user controls with a second set of quick start user controls that permits the user to select certain predetermined treadmill operating parameters such as speed to initiate a workout or to change to one of the predetermined speeds during a workout.
Another object of the invention is to provide a treadmill having a control panel that includes user controls that permit the user to program custom user workouts which have certain operating parameters such as speed and inclination where the custom workouts have greater flexibility than the standard workouts normally programed in a treadmill.
An additional object of the invention is to permit the user to switch programs while the treadmill is operating by merely pressing a particular program button without having to stop the treadmill and start a new program.
A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic cooldown feature that automatically begins upon conclusion of the user""s workout where the duration of the cooldown is determined by the length of time of the user""s workout and where the treadmill includes a heart rate management system, the cooldown can be terminated by the user""s heart rate reaching 60% of maximal.
Another object of the invention is to increase the frequency of display information on the user display that is relevant to the manner in which the treadmill is being used and to decrease the frequency of the display information that is not relevant.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a user detect feature that can use a detector such as an IR receiver/transmitter to stop the operation of the treadmill in order to overcome the problem of users leaving treadmills before the end of their programs which can result in treadmills continuing to run for a period of time. This feature can be further enhanced by using treadmill operating criteria such as key pad or motor controller activity to determine if a user is on the treadmill.
Yet an additional object of the invention is to provide a frame tag module secured to the frame of the treadmill and that includes a nonvolatile electrically erasable programmable memory chip and a real time clock.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a treadmill with a quick start feature.
Another object of the invention is to provide a display of the amount of time a user spends in a specified heart rate zone.